Next Steps

Loan Programs

As an MBA is a long-term investment, most students rely on loans to cover some or all of their education or living costs. Students typically borrow from one or several loan programs, and students have the right to select the educational loan provider of their choice.

Wharton does not endorse any specific lender nor receive compensation from any lender, and we encourage students to compare the fees and terms of all student loan products to determine which ones are best suited to their individual needs. Information on loan programs is available on the Student Financial Services website.

U.S. Citizen/Permanent Resident Students

Listed below are the current loan offerings for U.S. citizens and U.S. permanent residents.

Federal Direct and Direct Grad PLUS Loans

Federal student loans available to graduate/professional students are all unsubsidized loans. Direct Unsubsidized loans will accrue interest while you are in school.

Private Alternative Loans

A number of private lenders and other financial institutions offer education loans to students. These loans are referred to as private alternative loans.

Private alternative loans are not subsidized, and generally have tiered interest rates and fees, both based on your credit score. In addition, cosigners may be required. Unlike Federal Direct and Grad PLUS loans, private loans do not have an income-based cap on monthly repayments. Therefore, Penn encourages U.S. cisitzens and permanent residents to first consider the Federal Direct and Direct Grad PLUS loan programs when they need to borrow. Review a comparison of Grad PLUS and private alternative loans.

International Students

If you are an International student who is neither a dual U.S. citizen nor a U.S. permanent resident, we encourage you to investigate all sources of funding within your home country, including government and private scholarships and loans.

Wharton is pleased to announce a new partnership with Quorum Federal Credit Union that will provide a non-cosigned loan product for incoming international students. This loan program does not require a U.S. cosigner, and specific information on this program will be made available after students are admitted. Some U.S. banks will also permit international students to borrow through them provided the student has a creditworthy U.S. citizen cosigner.

Note 1: International students planning to borrow through the International Loan Program with Quorum Federal Credit Union will be limited to borrowing up to 80% of the MBA Student Budget for the first and second year of the program.

Note 2 (OFAC Sanctions): In accordance with mandatory federal regulatory guidelines, students from the United States Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets (OFAC) sanctioned countries are not eligible for the private education line of credit through Quorum Federal Credit Union. If you are an applicant from these countries, please complete a thorough search of funding opportunities to help with the cost of attendance at Wharton.